Can I Take Legal Action Against an FMCG Company for Refusing Claims on Expired Products?

Hi, I have taken distributorship of an FMCG food product company. I have been doing business with that company for the last two years. Initially, I was supplying products to retail shops, but unfortunately, no one purchased the products which led to them expiring on the shelves. I have collected all the expired products from the shops. However, the company is now refusing to provide me with the claim for those expired products. Can I take legal action against the company?

Dear Nick,

This concerns the issue between two parties who have entered into a contract. What are the provisions of the contract that we need to be aware of? Secondly, as a distributor, did you purchase the manufacturer's products, or were you solely responsible for storage and distribution?

Please clarify the points mentioned above.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

"I have taken distributorship of FMCG food product company."

What were the terms and conditions? Were you an agent of the company or did you buy things from the company and sell them? Was there any specific condition regarding unsold goods? Was the company liable to take them back or were you saddled with unsold goods? Unless the terms are clear, you will not be able to sustain any court case.

This is in addition to my previous post. The heading of your post says "FMCG Fraud." It is unfortunate that the FMCG goods were not sold. It is your and the company's bad luck. By chance, if the company's products had sold out very fast, would you have termed it as "fraud"?

It appears that you did not make provision in the contract to get the percentage of MRP per piece, whether the products are sold out or not. Now, today you are in a bind since the products are not getting sold out, your storage space is occupied on one side, but you continue to incur the recurring cost of distribution.

However, all these are surmises. Please mention clearly the terms of your contract to provide further suggestions.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar